I think you are doing a great job with your blog and the many activities you do with the children. Just a short comment – I realize that you do a lot of food based activities – is it because they are cheaply available? Here, food is not as cheap (I was quite shocked by your cranberry painting activity) and using it as art material seems a little wasteful

Hi Kiruthika,
Actually, we do all kinds of activities that do not include food but it seems the ones I have been able to observe lately are very food related. I know that it may seem wasteful but at the same time, I will respectfully disagree. I think that giving children the opportunity, if you have the means, to experience food through different senses and through different uses teaches children to understand their world in a meaningful way.

If the only time children ever touch a cranberry is to eat it then perhaps they will never touch a cranberry at all. Not all children like the taste of a cranberry and not all children are willing to taste some foods but they are willing to explore through other senses. If children are only limited to eating a food like cranberries, they will not discover the wonderful color and feel and smell of a cranberry. They will not discover the way the juices can be used to paint or dye fabrics and paper. They will not discover how the cranberries change from a berry when it is first picked to something soft and squishy once it is cooked or smashed up. But if they can explore cranberries through their play, art, or other opportunities they will discover and remember the many qualities of cranberries.

I think that where possible, we want to view food as more than only something to eat and not limit their imaginations. Children are the scientists of tomorrow – perhaps cranberries will be far more than we ever thought they would be someday!

Now having said that – I agree, it is important to teach children to respect food as something we should not waste and yes, even at our school we have to consider cost and the reality of using food wisely. We also want to teach children to respect food and not be wasteful but the children we work with are very young and I still believe that young children first need to explore their world before they will have a true understanding of how they can help to take care of it – at least that is my opinion. With the Thanksgiving holidays almost over, we will switch gears and probably do less with food items but I doubt we will eliminate it all together.

Thank you for your comment Kiruthika – I hope my comment in return does not offend you or anyone else as I am still learning too about others and the different needs and environments we all teach in.

I didnt mean to be critical. As a mother of two, I was constantly using food as one of my supplies – I never used berries as they are short in supply and very expensive, but I always used stuff like flour, colored rice, yogurt painting etc. Then a friend pointed out about teaching the value of food to children and I have been wondering how to balance the creativity aspect of it with less wastage.

Hi Kiruthika,
Please don’t feel like I am coming down on you at all – I have been asked about this topic many times and I really need to write a separate blog post:) Answering you helped me start thinking about writing more on this topic:) I think that you just have to use your own judgement rather than the judgement of others in your choices.

When it comes to the use of food, I believe that we do want to be sensitive to the idea of just being wasteful versus the idea of presenting meaningful experiences to young children.

I don’t think all experiences with food should be eliminated as it is a wonderful way to explore the feel, touch, smell, taste, and explore the many properties of organic materials through play, art, science, and other content areas.

There are many food items that are wonderful to use like rice that can be less expensive and lasts a long time for play and exploration. I just hate to think that we are only going to limit All learning to man-made items like tempera paint, construction paper, and glue:)

Ofcourse. II have been coming up with a number of alternatives as well – organic stuff that we throw away most of the time – egg shells, pista shells etc. and have been writing about them on my blog. I could give you the access to my blog if you are interested. But I need your email address though.

Thank you for all you do for young children!

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